Where Does Shreveport Rank When it Comes to Being Healthy?
If there's one thing we love here in the deep south, it's our vittles! Sadly, you'd think having plenty of access to health care with a hospital or quick care on every corner would balance things out, but sadly, that isn't the case. According to research from WalletHub.com, Shreveport is the fourth-least healthy city in the country! That's 179th out of the 182 cities included in the study.
So, what gives? It turns out that even though we appear to have a lot of access to healthcare, we don't. Shreveport ranks 66th when it comes to the cost of healthcare. We also don't have readily available mental healthcare, ranking 140th.
Shreveport's poor showing is also a reflection of the food we eat and our activity levels. We rank 151st when it comes to healthy dining per capita and 101st when it comes to dieticians and nutritionists per capita. Additionally, we're 166th when it comes to our share of physically active adults. Our gym memberships seem to be more expensive and according to WalletHub.com's research, we only have limited access to running trails, ranking 133rd and 169th in those categories respectively. On top of that, Shreveport ranks 123rd for COVID-19 infections in the last week by population.
While I know the city of Shreveport can't do a lot when it comes to minimizing healthcare costs, they can definitely do something at the state level. However, Shreveport could incentivize more low cost healthcare, including mental healthcare providers to come to the area. Unfortunately, when it comes to food, restaurants and grocery stores will continue to supply what people are buying, therefore, maybe launch a healthy lifestyle awareness campaign? Just a thought!